WASHINGTON                       96 Hughes Mountain

Hughes Mountain Natural Area

A 430-acre area 2.5 miles southwest of Irondale on a county road off Hwy M in Sections 28 and 33, T36N, R3E, Irondale 7.5 min. topographic map. Designated August 24, 1982, November 16, 1984 and September 25, 1991.

Natural Features--Igneous glades (on once-molten rhyolite) and upland oak-hickory-cedar forest on thin, rocky soils in the St. Francois Mountains Section of the Ozark Natural Division. Called the Devil's Honeycomb, the polygonal jointing on this rocky mountain is a unique example of this phenomenon in Missouri. Little bluestem, prickly pear cactus, rushfoil, pine weed and rough buttonweed are common glade plants. Black jack oak, red cedar and black hickory are common trees of the stunted forest that surrounds the glades. The area is owned by the Department of Conservation. For further information contact the District Forester, Meramec Forest District, P.O. Box 248 (Jct. Bus. I44 & 185 South), Sullivan, MO 63080, phone 573/468-3335.

Hughes Mountain Natural Area